All's Fair
by Aileene
Summary: First attempt at do a chapter story, RobRae, because I can. Robin is coming to terms with how he feels, now he just has to convince himself and Raven that it's okay to love. I may make a sequel to this story if I have enough interest in it.
1. Chapter 1

"Painting a picture?" A cool voice asked.

"Huh?"

"You're staring bird boy." Her amethyst eyes met his masked ones, empty but for mild curiosity and annoyance at his staring.

"Oh, sorry, I was thinking." He looked away from where she was curled up on the sofa, book in hand. A familiar sight, one that shouldn't make him yearn for her. Yet it did.

"Obsessions are never healthy Robin." She set the book aside and sat up to really look at him, his past obsessions worrying her mind slightly.

"I'm not obsessing about anything, I am just thinking." He insisted turning back to her, "I promise." He said to her disbelieving look.

"Very well," She stood and headed into the kitchen area to make a cup of her ever present tea. "Just remember that there are five of us on this team, not just you." She said speaking of his past escapades in trying to deal with his obsessions.

"I know, I already promised. No more Red X, no more apprentice stunts." He gave her one of his most charming smiles, to no obvious effect. "Trust me."

"I do trust you," She turned from him to pour the hot water over the tea bag in her cup. "I trust you as much as I am able."

"Where are the others?" He asked, wanting to get away from the subject of how he had abused her trust in him.

She looked at him silently, holding the mug in both hands and sipping her tea.

"I have no idea," She met his gaze with a slight smirk, causing his heart to stutter for a moment. "I'm a superhero, not their keeper."

"Just wondered, it's awfully quiet today." He turned back around on the sofa focusing on the view outside their windows. Rain pelted down and he saw a few cracks of lightening followed by the sound of thunder. "I can't imagine any of them wanting to be out in this."

"I try not guess when it comes to those three, the gods only know what they are up to." She grimaced, remembering the time Cyborg and Beast Boy had taken a trip into her meditation mirror.

With a wave of her hand, she drew her book to her and began to head to her room, just to be sure none of them had decided to get brave and venture in there.

Robin watched her leave, cloak swirling and offering tempting glances at her petite body. He swallowed with difficulty. Yeah obsession wasn't healthy, he sighed, but what else could he do.


	2. Chapter 2

Walking slowly down the dim hallway, Raven thought about her recent encounter with Robin. He was distracted lately, staring off in to space more often than not. His emotions were well cloaked from her; she couldn't get a good reading on him. Not that she had really tried, she respected his privacy as much as he respected hers, but something was going on here.

Slade? No that wasn't it, Slade tended to make him a little angrier than whatever was bothering him now.

She came to her room and slid the door open, thankfully none of the other team members had gone temporarily brain dead and the room was empty. She set her book down and slid fluidly into the lotus position, determined to meditate on the problem. They really couldn't afford to lose Robin to another obsession or whatever the problem was, pulling him back from such things got very tiring after a while.

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Sitting alone in the living area, head laid back and eyes clothes, Robin tried to think of a way to approach Raven. Even with her father's defeat she still hid behind her emotionless façade. He didn't think shouting that he was pretty sure he was in love with her would work 'and it just might get him killed.' He thought wryly.

"Dude, is he sleeping?" Beast Boy's rather loud whisper interrupted his thoughts.

"If I were sleeping, I wouldn't be now." He commented opening his eyes and sitting up.

"Cool, we got a new game to play. Wanna take the winner?" Cyborg said crashing his large frame onto the couch.

"Naw, I have some research to do." He stood and watched them start the game for a moment, arguing over who would be the ultimate fighter. Some things would never change.

He headed towards his room, his mind on the seemingly impossible, how do you convince a stubborn empath, who lived her entire life trying to avoid emotional entanglements, that one of the most complex of them all was worth the risk?

"Robin," Starfire's voice rung out from in front of him, "I have a question I feel I must ask."

"Uh, okay." Robin stopped and looked at the pretty alien girl; he had once thought that he would be approaching her, amazing what one apocalypse can do to change the mind.

"Speedy has asked me to…" She paused staring at him intently, "He has asked me to do the ritual of the date with him."

"Okay, but I didn't hear a question Star."

"Well, I am aware that at one time we had the feelings for one another and I would not wish to do anything to hurt you." How could anyone deny someone who could make doe eyes as well as she could, he smiled inwardly, glad that her attentions were turning elsewhere.

"So you want to know if I am okay with this?" At her nod he continued, "I think it is great, as long as you are happy with it." He smiled reassuringly at her.

"Oh glorious, I would not wish to hurt you in anyway Robin, but I find that I am indeed wanting to do the dating ritual with Speedy." She smiled at him brightly, obviously relieved that things were working out as she wanted.

"Have a good time Star." He returned the hug she impulsively threw at him and they headed their separate ways.


	3. Chapter 3

**Yeah...not so sure I am in love with this chapter, but I promise Rae/Rob interaction in the next and it will be out much sooner than this one was :)**

**Re-uploading a few pages to clear out some minor spelling errors...if any others are noted please let me know so I can fix them :) thank you.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

Robin did what he always did when he faced a complex problem, he brooded. He also spent an exorbitant amount of time in the gym and on the obstacle course trying to exhaust him to the point where he could sleep with dreaming of silken hair and amethyst eyes. It wasn't working to well for him, other members of the team began to notice his withdrawal and lack of sleep, sure signs that he was once again obsessing over something and wasn't sharing it with any of them.

At the beginning they all thought that it was Starfire's new relationship with Speedy, after all even if Robin was fine with it, he was still a very competitive person and losing even a contest he had no interest in to the handsome archer could drive him nuts.

"We must do something, it is not right to leave our friend in such obvious suffering." This was from Star, although she seemed flighty and without substance much of the time, she was very far from it. "If it will things better, I will discontinue with the dating of Boyfriend Speedy."

"Even if that is it Star, and somehow I don't think it is, he would need to adjust to that and get over it. You can not put your own happiness on hold because he wants to act like a spoiled two year old." Raven, oh so straight and to the point. "But as I said, I do not believe that the problem lies with Star's relationship"

"Why not, this is Robin we are talking about…you know winning is the only thing that matters Robin." Beastboy was worried and he wanted an easy answer before they found Robin as another apprentice or fighting them as Red-X again.

"Yes this is Robin we are talking about and if Star's relationship was the problem then he would have managed to pick a fight with Speedy long before now and I would be healing broken noses and ribs." Her reply was sardonic and came with her lifted brow as if to say 'Why are we even going over this'

"Raven is right; Robin wouldn't have kept to himself for this long if Speedy and Star were the problem." Cyborg said, his one human eye reflecting the worry that was washing over him.

"What shall we do about it?" Starfire's face reflected her worry, as did her nervous hovering and hand wringing.

"We tackle him, tie him up and force him to talk." Beastboy smiled, completely confident in his plan.

"Yes, that worked so well when he was Red-X." Sarcasm dripped like venom from each word. "Someone must go talk to him, but he'll only clam up if we all force him into a corner."

"It means 'to not talk' Star." Cyborg put in quickly as she opened her mouth to question the phrase and wonder what Robin had to do with sea creatures. "I agree with Raven, one of us has to talk to him and make him see that he needs to tell us what is going on."

"Beastboy and Star are not good candidates for it, so that leaves you and me." Raven replied.

"Why can I not do this talking to him?" Starfire's voice was a little hurt.

"Because if it is, just on the off chance, about you, then he won't talk to you and it will only make it worse. Beastboy can't because Robin always manages to distract him from his original train of thought and Robin would be more likely to send Beastboy running through the obstacle course than talk to him." Raven's voice was in monotone, but it wasn't cruel, she was just stating the facts as she knew them.

"He'd throw me on the course just as fast Rae." Cyborg spoke up, anything to get out of confronting a broody, obsessed boy wonder with a hair gel addiction.

"Great." She didn't wince, even though she wanted to. It was always her in the end. "I'll talk to him, but first I am going to meditate so I don't break something over his hard head."

"You are a true friend Raven." Star was all smiles again, her earlier unhappiness soothed away by Raven's logical answers, even if she didn't totally understand about the sea creatures still.

"Man, I so don't want to be you when he realizes why you want to talk to him." Was BB's reply, he winced when the dark girl sent a glare his way and he scurried out of the control room where they had all met, Starfire following behind.

"Thanks Rae, if this doesn't work, we may have to try BB's method." Cy said, laying a hand on her slim shoulder and giving it a brotherly squeeze.

"Yay, lucky me." She muttered under her breath as she walked out of the room and headed towards the roof to build up all her shields, so this confrontation with the most stubborn person on the planet didn't destroy the tower.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay it is longer than the last few and I really had to cut it off at around 1500 words so that the rest of the chapters wouldn't get jealous...and a little cliff hanger/teaser never hurt anyone (plus none of you can find me, I hide very well lol) I promise to have the next chapter up with in the next couple of days so it won't be a long wait, I will post it as soon as it is done. I really do hate to do this, but I want to keep you updated and this scene is getting fairly long and their is a lot more I want to add to it.**

**Re-uploading for various corrections...probably still missed a couple, but tried to get as many as I could see. **

**Disclaimer: all my cages are empty, so unless they escaped I don't own them and I never have...I only borrow for awhile :)**

After two hours of meditation and only a minimal number of interruptions from her well meaning, if annoying friends, Raven was ready to face their leader and try to drag out of him whatever it was that was bothering him.

She didn't exactly feel comfortable approaching him this way; they had always respected each others privacy. Even with the end of the world and her obvious evasions Robin hadn't forced anything out of her. Yet, if you thought about it, every time Robin was left to brood nothing good ever came of it. When you start shutting yourself off from members of your team, you stopped being a part of that team. So really, she had no choice in the matter, at least as she saw it.

Calculating the time and Robin's normal schedule in her head, Raven went straight to the training room. She supposed she could have searched for him mentally, but she avoided using their bond unless she had no alternative. It made her uncomfortable to intrude on him that way, she wasn't sure why she tried so hard to close their bond off she only knew it felt safer that way.

As she drew closer to the training room she could hear the muted thuds and the quiet huffs of breath as Robin went through his routine. Raven stood in the doorway watching him for a moment, he was in uniform as he usually was; his cape swirled as he kicked and stabbed with his Bo staff at some invisible enemy. The material of his uniform stretched taut across his chest, outlining clearly that he was no long the whip thin boy who had helped create the Titans. His hair was also longer, a trend that had started soon after Star had returned from the future with her description of Nightwing, but the costume was the same traffic stopping color.

Raven waited for him to pause before entering the room, she announced her presence with a shake of her head and a sigh at his over worked condition.

"Something wrong?" Robin asked, she rarely interrupted his training unless there was an emergency of some kind and the look on her face indicated she had something that needed to be said.

"I hope not," She answered gliding across the room to sit on the bench next to his towel and water, an arch of her brow indicated that he should sit next to her. Having no real excuse not to, Robin crossed the room and took up his towel.

He wiped the sweat from his face and sat down a few feet away from her, his body angled so he could see her face.

"So, what is this something that you hope is not wrong?" He smirked at her and shoved down his own feelings as he drank in the sight of her with her hood down.

"You Robin, I hope that you are not this something." She replied. Heroically, she thought, resisting the urge to plant him in the wall for smirking at something so serious.

"There is nothing wrong with me." He assured her a smile firmly, almost painfully pinned to his face as he realized why she was here.

"You have the choice of listening to me and letting me help you figure out what is wrong or being tied up by Beastboy and the rest of them and being forced to tell all them." Her tone was heated as frustration reared up at his dismissal. Did he think her stupid? Or was he the stupid one?

Robin swallowed at the anger in her eyes; maybe he could think up a decent lie and pass that off as the trouble. He should have made sure he interacted more with the team, if it wasn't for their suspicions he wouldn't be in this situation. No, that wasn't fair; it had been his previous actions that brought about these consequences.

"Don't even think about lying to me Robin, I am not here to play games. I don't care if you have a problem with Speedy dating Star or if you are still obsessing over Slade, but when it affects you and the team this way I won't stand for it. I told you not that long ago that obsession isn't healthy, and it doesn't seem to work well for you. Maybe you should try a new strategy, like talking to someone." For all the harshness in her speech, the care and concern she had for him bled through her tone and she leaned forward to look into his masked eyes.

"Lies wouldn't help anyway; you always seem to read straight through them." This time when he smiled there was a touch of sadness and his cavalier attitude had been replaced with a more contemplative one as he thought of the best way to tell Raven what was bothering him, without really telling her. He just wasn't ready yet. "It's not Star and Speedy."

"I already figured that out."

"How?" He uncapped his water bottle and took a swig to help with the dryness in his throat.

"If that was the problem then both you and Speedy would have fought it out and you would be over it by now."

"I guess you know me pretty well by now then," He smiled at her impatient nod and continued. "I am not sure of where to start really." He sighed and ran a hand through his already mess black hair.

"The beginning usually works best, but that is just a suggestion." Raven said dryly, her monotone back in full force.

"I'm not even sure where the beginning is. I don't know if it is when we first met or whether something sparked it later on." He was speaking in generalities; she didn't have to know that he spoke about her, at least not yet. "I never thought I was capable of these emotions after my parent's died."

Raven's eyes widened in shock, they were both aware that she knew about his past, but there had been an unspoken agreement that it wasn't ever to be mentioned. Ever.

"It wasn't because I thought that all my emotions had died with them or anything like that," He replied hurriedly, wanting to skip over the painful subject as fast as possible. "It's just that I never wanted to feel the loss of someone like that again, so I made sure to close myself off from those things. Then I met the Titans, you became my friends and I started to care for all of you in a way I never expected to, beyond that of a leader and a friend to that of a family."

"I can understand that." Raven said softly as he took another swallow of his water, she leaned forward her eyes intent as she listened to him. She settled her chin in her hands, elbows on her knees, and waited for him to gather his thoughts and continue.

"I know," He replied simply leaning back and putting his head against the wall he gazed at the ceiling and wondered how to continue without giving anything away.

"Robin, why is it so difficult for you to talk to me about this?" She paused as a thought flitted through her mind. "Is it because of what happened, because of what I did?" Although she was fearful of the answer her questions were straightforward and her tone was carefully blank.

"God no Raven," Robin's head whipped down and around to look at her, his eyes wide behind his mask. "You haven't done anything." He insisted he leaned over and took her hand in his, a gesture similar to the one he had made before she had become the portal to her demon father. "I think maybe that is the problem." He muttered the last to himself, but Raven caught the words and questions began to form rapidly in her mind.

"What do you mean?" She didn't jerk her hands out of his grasp, but she did glare at him demanding an answer. "What haven't I done, exactly?" Her voice was measured and careful.

"I didn't mean it like that," He protested. "I don't know what I am saying right now, it doesn't have anything to do with you." He lied straight out and instantly regretted it.

Raven slowly took her hand from his, "I think it does, I am only beginning to see and not too clearly right now, but somehow I think what is going on does have to do with me." She stood and turned away from him, "Tell me Robin, how long have I been a problem that you have brooded on and ignored facing?" When did I stop being a friend? She asked silently.

"You aren't a problem Raven," He stood as well, dropping the towel and water bottle on the floor in his haste. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him, trying not to wince at the pain in her eyes. "I am the problem, will you listen?"

"That is what I am here for." Her tone had gone beyond monotone to apathetic, her pain carefully hidden from him. Except for what he could read in her eyes and feel through their tenuous bond.


	5. Chapter 5

**As promised, the rest of the last scene is here, and just as long if not longer than the one before. I hope everyone has enjoyed this story. I was playing with one more chapter for it, but this seems to be a nice conclusion to it for now.**

**Re-uploaded to fix a few grammatical and spelling errors (I hope I found them all lol)**

**Please Read and Review. :)**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, I only play with them for a bit**

"Raven," He sighed and tried to think of where he had blundered and how to fix it. This was not going the way he had hoped, truth was the only thing that might save their friendship. If she didn't kill him when he got done talking, they might be okay. His gut clenched as he thought of telling her how he felt, not just alluding to it, but really telling her.

He slid his hands down her arms to her hands and led her back to the bench, they both sat, but he didn't release her hands, partly to keep her from physically turning from him and partly just to enjoy the feel of her small hands in his. For the first time in his life he regretted the fact that he wore gloves.

"Just spit it out Robin, my patience is on the thin side right now." She warned him darkly, unaware that her emotions were burning brightly in her eyes and through their bond. Even as she sat her gaze bore into his, she fought for the slippery control she had on her powers, silently she repeated her mantra.

"Raven, I think we need to concentrate on you calming down first," He gave a small, sad smile. "Things are beginning to glow and I would prefer not to be hit with the weights that are hovering in the air."

"This conversation isn't over Robin; just give me a few minutes." She closed her eyes and began speaking her mantra aloud. She didn't remove her hands from his and she felt the warmth seep from them up her arms and into the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure whether or not she liked the feeling, but she took it and used it as part of her relaxation, running the warmth from her fingertips to her toes, using it to force out her anger and pain. She couldn't get rid of all of it, but she was able to wrap it firmly under her control once again and she slowly drew back in the dark energy she had expended.

"Ready?" Robin asked as he watched her breathing even out and saw that the weights had stopped hovering ominously in the air.

"I am ready," She opened her eyes and looked at him with ageless wisdom that never ceased to cause thrills up his spine. "Are you ready?"

"No, but that doesn't really matter does it?"

"Of course it does," She paused shifting a little, now that she was out of meditation the warmth that was flooding her body was oddly uncomfortable and pleasant at the same time. "I will say that if you can't be ready now, when will you be ready?"

"You're right."

"I usually am." She shook her head at his smirk since her hands were too occupied to wave away their return to humor and hurry him along.

"Yeah, you are." He took a deep breath and carefully ordered is thoughts. "I get confused and unsure of myself and where I am going sometimes. That is why I brood when something that I can't immediately find a solution to appears."

"Okay, I can understand that, but the way you brood and shut your self off from the rest of us isn't healthy. The way you tend to beat your body to death until it provides an answer isn't going to work anymore. Especially considering that the answers you seem to come up with are always the wrong ones." It was a direct comment about the past choices he had made that had almost caused him to lose his team and himself.

"I do have a problem, but it has nothing to do with a villain or any of the other Titans." He assured her, gently squeezing her hands.

"So it is me." She stated, more curious now than hurt. She couldn't think of what she might have done to cause Robin to act this way, if it wasn't because of what had happened with Slade and Trigon, she was at a loss.

"No…at least not totally," He paused and smiled at her, trying to ease the lump out of his throat. "The Titans are my family, the only family I have besides Bruce and Alfred. You're aware of that?" She nodded. "I don't want to mess any of this up, you matter too much to me."

Raven tilted her head slightly as she tried to decipher exactly what Robin was saying, again questions danced in her head, but somewhere Knowledge was telling her she knew the answer to what Robin wasn't asking. Raven only wished she could get a clear view, but it seemed as if everything was covered in fog and she could only grope her way along clinging to Robin for support.

"Raven, you are my closest friend. Not just because of the bond that was created, but because you understand me better than anyone else does." He swallowed again his eyes never leaving hers. "I don't want to lose you as a friend, but I think I need you to be more than that now."

"Think?" The question was out of her mouth before she thought to stop it. Her mind seemed to have come to a sputtering stop and all she could do was stare at him.

He smiled at her, wondering what was taking place in that impressive mind of hers. "No I don't think it; I know that I need you." He felt her begin to tremble and he stopped smiling. "Raven, are you all right?" He reached out to pull her head up from where it had fallen to her chest so he could see her eyes.

"I don't know that I will ever be all right again." She looked at him with pleading eyes and hated herself for it, she didn't know what she wanted, but she sure as hell didn't want to be this limp doll that suddenly sat across from him. She jerked away and stood again, walking a few steps away with her back to him. "Robin, you need to be clear and concise. Tell me what your problem is and how I am supposed to help you with it. Then I will tell you what I can and can't do." Her desperate desire for clarity didn't appear in her voice, it was as even as ever, but he could read it in the way she crossed her arms.

"Okay," He looked at her back and his heart broke a little, he read her rejection in the set of her shoulders. "I dream about you, I hear your voice when I am alone. I catch your scent during a battle and suddenly my mind freezes. I want to be with you more than I want to breathe. In the beginning I forced myself to stay away from you; I thought that would fix it. It didn't, it only made it worse. So I began to look for opportunities to be near you, but that only made my heart and soul ache so bad to touch you that I didn't know how I could survive."

"So you began to brood." Her tone was almost blank of emotion, but he caught the lilt of something in it that gave him hope and he continued.

"So I began to brood. I tried to think of a way to approach you about it, a way that wouldn't cause you to reject me, because I knew that you could never feel this way about me." He paused as he got to his feet and crossed the few feet to her and laid his hands on her shoulders, he felt the trembling again, but he wasn't sure whether it originated in her or him.

"You are more stupid than I ever thought possible Boy Blunder." Raven replied quietly, her thoughts and emotions in focus again. Although his touch caused the warmth that suffused her to increase, she reveled in it.

"Stupid?" It was his turn to be taken aback.

"Why didn't you come to me?" She didn't turn to him and he was unsure of what she was feeling, but he knew he couldn't let go of the truth now; that he couldn't back away from her no matter the response.

"I was afraid." He slowly turned her towards him and tried to read her eyes, what he saw their caused hope to swell larger. "I don't want you to ever disappear again."

"You would only find me." She replied, a smile curving her lips.

"Why?" He didn't know why he asked, he only knew he wanted to know.

"Why not?" She took a breath and glanced at the hands that now held hers again, "Can anyone truly answer why we choose who we do?"

"I can try." He smirked at her, his confidence growing as he realized that the rejection he has feared wasn't going to happen.

"Then this is my answer," She looked into his face again, "I choose you because of your courage, your heart. I choose you because of the integrity that you wear like a second uniform. I choose you because of the darkness that lurks around your soul and for the hope that you bring to me. I choose you because there is no one else for me in this world but you."

"That is a very good answer," His voice was choked and his heart stuttered at her words. "This is mine; I choose you for the light you can summon with a smile. I choose you for your sense of honor and justice; for your loyalty. I choose you for the way you give your heart and soul so completely to those that you care for. I choose you because my heart would have no other." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips, sinking into the feeling of her warmth and her love.

Raven responded to the kiss with everything that was in her heart to give and she rejoiced in the way that the feeling was returned.


End file.
